Ronald Reagan's Children: All About Maureen, Michael, Christine, Patti and Ron

Mar. 15, 2025

Left to right: Reagan’s son and daughter, Ronald and Patti; wife, Nancy Reagan; son, Michael with grandson Cameron and daughter-in-law, Colleen; and daughter, Maureen.Photo:Bettmann/Getty

Bettmann/Getty

Ronald Reagan’s memory lives on through his children: Maureen, Michael, Christine, Patti and Ron.

When he was best known as an actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood, Ronald met his first wife, fellow actress Jane Wyman. The pair married in 1940 and welcomed three kids together: daughters Maureen and Christine and son Michael. (Unfortunately,Christine was prematureand died the day she was born on June 26, 1947. Maureen later died from skin cancer at the age of 60 in 2001.)

A few years after Ronald and Wyman divorced, the actor metNancy Reagan. They wed in 1952 and welcomed their daughter Patti that same year. The couple later celebrated the arrival of their son, Ron.

As Ronald’s political career took off, his children marked their own paths in acting, radio, philanthropy and politics. Since his death in 2004, they have shared stories from their time with him and continued to carry on his legacy through their personal work.

Most recently, the biographical dramaReagan, based on the 2007 bookThe Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, showcases the life of the late 40th president of the United States, from his childhood to his family and career.

Here’s everything to know about the late former president Ronald Reagan’s children: Maureen, Michael, Christine, Patti and Ron.

Maureen Elizabeth Reagan

Ronald Reagan with his first wife, Jane Wyman, and their daughter Maureen Reagan in 1946.Bettmann/Getty

Ronald and Wyman welcomed their daughter, Maureen Elizabeth Reagan, on Jan. 4, 1941.

After Ronald and Wyman met on the set of the 1938 comedy dramaBrother Rat, in which they were leads, the fellow actors married two years later and, shortly after, started a family with Maureen’s arrival.

Decades later, Maureen reflected on her childhood and life before Ronald entered politics, sharing anecdotes in her 1989 book,First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir.

In it, she recountedspending time with him, driving around Los Angeles, having long conversations and playing pretend with theKings Rowstar. But Maureen remembered their dynamic shifting when he and her mom Wyman divorced in 1948.

President Reagan walks with his daughter Maureen Reagan during a White House visit on July 31, 1985.Bettmann/Getty

By the time Ronald embarked on his political career — first as the governor of California and then the 40th U.S. president — Maureen had pursued various interests, including acting.

“I wanted to do something, be somewhere, I wanted to be an actress, and to be one, you had to know something of the world,” she toldThe New York Timesabout dropping out of Marymount College after her freshman year.

She eventually became involved in the Republican party and was elected as co-chair of the Republican National Committee in 1987, theUnited Press Internationalreported. Throughout her time in politics, she supported women’s issues, like abortion rights.

Maureen was married three times and was wed to public relations executive Dennis Revell for 20 years when she died at the age of 60 from melanoma on Aug. 8, 2001. Maureen and Dennis shared one daughter named Rita.

Michael Edward Reagan, 78

Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman with their children Maureen and Michael, circa 1946.Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Ronald and Wyman welcomed their son, Michael Edward Reagan, on March 18, 1945, via adoption.

Like his parents and sister, Michael starred in a few acting roles, most notably in five episodes of the CBS soap operaFalcon Crest, in which his mom was a lead. Around the same time, he was named the first host of the game showLingo.

Michael eventually stepped away from the camera and went behind the microphone as a radio talk show personality. In the early aughts, he began hostingThe Michael Reagan Show, speaking on conservative political matters. The syndicated talk radio program aired for nearly two decades and reportedly brought in 5 million listeners,per his Newsmax bio.

Republican strategist Michael Reagan speaks at a get-out-the-vote rally for U.S. Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle featuring U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at The Orleans October 29, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ethan Miller/Getty

Ethan Miller/Getty

Since ending the radio show, he has continued having a presence in politics as a commentator and strategist. He’s also acontributor to conservative news outlet Newsmax, discussing his father Ronald’s memory and personal takes on current events.

Like his siblings, Michael has recalled his life experiences in different written works, including 1988’sOn the Outside Lookingand 2004’sTwice Adopted.

Apart from his career, he’s been married to his wife, Colleen, for over 40 years, and they share two adult children, Ashley and Cameron.

Patricia “Patti” Davis, 72

Patti Davis visits the SiriusXM Studios on February 07, 2024 in New York City.Noam Galai/Getty

Noam Galai/Getty

Ronald and Nancy welcomed their first child together, daughter Patricia “Patti” Davis, on Oct. 21, 1952. Born Patricia Reagan, she later chose to take her mother’s maiden name.

Patti had a complicated relationship with her parents throughout her life, which she described in several books. After her time as a first daughter, Patti reflected about her family in 1992’sThe Way I See It: An Autobiographyand 2024’sDear Mom and Dad: A Letter About Family, Memory, and the America We Once Knew.

In particular, she tried to reconcile why she and Nancy weren’t close, coming to terms with her mom’s difficult childhood and how it affected their mother-daughter relationship later on.

“My mother has been the most challenging relationship in my life,” she told theLos Angeles Timesin 2023.“I feel like I have come to a place of more insight into her, more forgiveness, and more acceptance that it was always going to be a difficult relationship. I think you have to accept the fact that there are things you will never have an answer for.”

Speaking toThe Guardianin 2024, Patti recalled Ronald’s career in politics as a focal point when she was a child, discussing the intricacies of government while eating dinner instead of her struggles at school.

The topic became more layered as she grew older and he was elected president. The trio avoided politics because Patti’s beliefs differed from Ronald and Nancy’s conservative perspectives.

California Governor Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, gather around the Christmas tree with children Patti and Ron in December 1970.Bettmann/Getty

Later in life, though, she found that same forgiveness with her father, caring for him during the last decade of his life as he dealt with Alzheimer’s. In an interview with PEOPLE in 2021, Patti shared that her relationship with her dad deepened after he was diagnosed in 1994 as she got to know him in a new way.

“There [had been] so much else in the way — my wanting him to be a more available, present father got in the way of really appreciating andbeing grateful for the human being he wasunderneath everything,” she said.

In the same vein, Patti got the opportunity to understand her mom as she “lost the love of her life.”

Seeing her father in this state and watching her mother continue to look after him inspired her to become an advocate for Alzheimer’s, with an emphasis on caretakers.

In terms of her personal life, she married her yoga teacher, Paul Grilly, in 1984, and they later split in 1990.

Ronald “Ron” Prescott Reagan, 66

Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan’s son Ron Reagan.Araya Doheny/WireImage

Araya Doheny/WireImage

Ronald and Nancy welcomed their second child together, Ronald “Ron” Reagan, on May 20, 1958.

From a young age, Ron recognized he had different viewpoints from his parents, who were devout Christians. Speaking toLos Angeles Timesin 2020, Ron recounted the moment he told his father he would no longer be attending church.

“I was 12 when I told my father I wasn’t going anymore,” he told the newspaper. “I said I didn’t want to be hypocritical, disrespectful and fake it. It was a waste of a perfectly good Sunday morning."

Ron added that Ronald didn’t try too hard to convince him otherwise and it would be the start of their varying perspectives.

In 1976, when Ron attended a performance ofThe Nutcrackerwith his sister Patti, he decided to drop out of Yale’s Davenport College after one semester to pursue a ballet career, according toThe New York Times.

Subsequently, Ron enrolled in the Stanley Holden School of Ballet, where he trained for two years and earned a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School in 1979. Ron was eventually asked to join its dance company, Joffrey Ballet, where he moved up the ranks untilhe asked to be releasedearly from his contract in 1983.

Though Ron didn’t share the reason behind his decision, Ronald and Nancy expressed their support. “We’re behind him in whatever career change he chooses to make,” they said in a statement.

Two years prior, the president wrote about his son’s talent after attending one of his performances. “He was darn good,” Ronald pennedin his diary. “He has a grace that is remindful of Fred Astaire—a little extra flair that makes it all look easy.”

Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan with their son Ron Reagan on July 17, 1972.Central Press/Getty

Central Press/Getty

After leaving the stage, Ron stepped in front of the camera a few years later and explored acting, similar to his dad and sister. In the last ’80s, he appeared in the movieSoul Manand the showsWebsterandCinemax Comedy Experiment.

Around the same time, while Ronald was in his second term as president, Ron also hosted an episode ofSaturday Night Live. Inhis opening monologue, he mentioned his father and quipped at his unique position in the country.

In the years following Ronald’s departure from the White House, Ron became a political commentator, hosting his own late-night talk show,The Ron Reagan Show, and co-hostedConnected: Coast to Coaston MSNBC. After his late-night talk show was canceled, Ron transitioned it to Air America Radio.

Today, he’s still active in politics, often sharinghow his dad would feelabout modern American policies.

To mark what would have been his dad’s 100th birthday in 2011, Ron published a book about his life,My Father at 100, in which he gave an intimate look at his upbringing alongside the former president and what he was like behind the scenes.

Five years later, at his mom Nancy’s funeral, Ron reflected on his parents' love and how it propelled them to be the best versions of themselves.

“She loved her husband more than anything in the world and I think that you can make the case that the Ronald Reagan that we all came to know as presidentwould not have existed without Nancy Reagan," he said.

On the personal front, Ron was married to his wife, Doria Palmieri, for 33 years until her death in 2014.

source: people.com